Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie

Our grandmother used to make the best pies. Of course, everyone’s grandmother made the best pies, but believe us when we say our grandmother made the world’s best pies. She made a killer sour cream apple, a delightfully complex peach rhubarb, and a lemon meringue that would knock your socks off – literally, we would eat it in our bare feet just to avoid the hassle of having our socks fly off.

Out of our grandmother’s vast pie-making repertoire, there’s one pie though that stands out – her pecan pie. Always served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s one of the cornerstone memories we have of her. She was a pragmatic person, and as she grew older, she always asked what we wanted willed to us. The one thing we all desired was her rolling pin. Ancient, deeply-worn, with a rich patina, it was a magical tool that had rolled out countless delicious crusts. We’re not sure who inherited that wonderful artifact, all we know is that it wasn’t us. Needless to say, we have never quite mastered crust-making she way she had. Maybe if we had ended up with that rolling pin things would have been different.

So when we put a few twists to Grandmother’s pecan pie recipe, we opted for a pre-made crust. We know, she’s probably rolling over in her grave, but she was a loving and forgiving woman. We hope she understands. We have come up with a quick and easy pecan pie recipe that includes some of our favorite things: maple syrup, bacon, and bourbon. We think she would be proud. Proud enough to overlook a pre-made crust? Well, we may never know. But here’s to an easy, savory, and slightly boozy dessert. And here’s to you Grandmother, we know if you were here you’d be tipping them back with our handcrafted whiskey stones. Cheers!

Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie

Ingredients

6 slices bacon

1½ cups pecans

2 shots bourbon

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 pie crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry the bacon, then chop into small pieces and set aside. Cook the pecans and maple syrup in remaining bacon grease for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup and bourbon. Stir in the pecan-maple syrup mix and bacon pieces. Pour this mixture into a pie crust. Bake until the crust is golden, about one hour.

i tweeked this a little. I used 2 pieces of bacon instead of 6. I was not sure if i was suspose to add all the bacon fat or not.so with 2 strips i didn’t have the fat and it turned out to be the best pie i ever had.

Double-check your measurements on the ingredients. By “shots” of bourbon we mean 1oz. shots. If you went heavy on the pour, that might account for the lack of firming with the filling. If all else fails, ladle some of that “soupy” pie over a bowl of vanilla ice cream and call it a good day. Regards and Cheers!

I made this recipe at Thanksgiving. The only thing I changed was the amount of Bourbon added. Instead of 3oz I now use 2oz. The Bourbon flavor, at least in my opinion, was a bit over-powering in the original recipe. The pie is amazing!